Hydroplane and lifting off the accelerator

[Broccoli2]

So, it was 5am and I wasn't mentally prepared for what was about to happen. I started to hydroplane and I lifted off the accelerator when I should have stayed steady on the pedal. The regenerative braking kicked in and made it much worse. The traction control kicked in and made it worse yet. Now before I get told that I don't know how to drive I have done some racing and precision driving. With plenty of sliding and hydroplaning on purpose, just never in a tesla or electric car for that matter. When the first slide stared to happen I lifted and the back end tried to pass the front end. I kinda got it back then it happened again and because I have been in the situation before my muscle memory kicked in and that is bad for this car. I really with I would have thought of the regenerative braking before I started to drive yesterday and turned it to low. Oh well I guess it's time to trade my Founders Addition in-- BTW you can see the SUV I hit just drive away... PS. I also think a car this amazing should know it's raining and shut it off..... Crazy

 

[WilliamG]

Jeeeez. That sucks. So sorry. And the car you hit drove away? Like...what?!

 

[doug]

Hmm, I'm not sure what the current cars do, but the Tesla Roadster would disable regen during traction control events. (This made some folks claim the car was speeding up, when in fact it was just slowing down less.)

I'd be interested to see the videos from the side repeaters to see how other folks reacted to you.

 

[JulienW]

Was it RWD or AWD? Also I'm guessing you had regen on high/normal.

And the car you hit keeps on driving like nothing happened?????? SAY WHAT??? DID they come back or????????

 

[Needsdecaf]

The craziest part of this post is the car that got hit driving away. WTF, was he super illegal or high or what?

Sorry to hear of your accident. Do you have a RWD Model 3? I wonder if the extreme regen during a big lift hurt? If you've done HPDE you know that a big lift transfers your weight forward, making the rear really light and loose.

Hope the damage wasn't too bad.

 

[jyalpert]

Interesting. I asked about this in a separate thread regarding tracking the Model 3. I've had my share of lift-off oversteer, and was worried the regen braking would exacerbate it. Sounds like . . . yep, that's a thing that can happen. I think probably if you had a lot of track experience with this car, you'd learn to manage the throttle to avoid such a situation, but if not, the extra weight transfer forward in a low-grip situation is no bueno.

 

[famoruwa]

What type of tires were you running? What type of treadwear was left off before the incident? AWD/RWD? That's quite alarming.

 

[jerry33]

The craziest part of this post is the car that got hit driving away. WTF, was he super illegal or high or what?

I've seen several cars get hit and just drive away (fortunately, my car wasn't involved). The car that does the hitting usually gets in trouble because the driver panics and overcorrects. I believe that some are just because they don't think the damage was worth the hassle, some because they consider it more dangerous to stop on a crowded freeway, and some because of no insurance.

 

[MrRoboto]

Glad you are ok! That could have been much worse. Thanks for sharing, good food for thought. Not sure if my muscle memory would have faired any better (also done quite a bit of track/performance driving).

 

[ZoomsansVroom]

I've seen several cars get hit and just drive away (fortunately, my car wasn't involved). The car that does the hitting usually gets in trouble because the driver panics and overcorrects. I believe that some are just because they don't think the damage was worth the hassle, some because they consider it more dangerous to stop on a crowded freeway, and some because of no insurance.

Or a few dead bodies and a couple hundred kilos of cocaine and fentanyl...

 

[kbecks13]

The rear end definitely gets light if you lift off the accelerator from regen and i've spun on track because of that - but im shocked that this happened.

Definitely curious to hear what tires and how much tread you have left.

Though looks like this was in LA and i know it was the first rain in a while, so the roads were probably slick with oil.

 

[Triplett]

Never even thought of that problem. I, too, would instinctively lift in a hydroplane because I've never had regen brakes before. Looks like I'll have to book some skidpad time for some retraining.

 

[Rottenapplr]

Wow I wonder if light regent would result in the same situation. I personally don’t like heavy regen.

 

[Broccoli2]

Thanks for all the responses. This is a 2017 Model 3 RWD. Regen on High/Normal... The guy disappeared. I even drove down the freeway looking for him. I just looked at the tires and the rears are pretty worn, the fronts are not to bad. My fault again for letting them get like that. All my personal cars are Jeeps, a 2500 Pickup truck and motorcycles, so I guess I'm not used to tires wearing that fast. The side repeater cameras don't really show much, basically people lifting not slamming on the breaks. You can't see the vehicle I hit.. (I need to look at the drives side again and see). I can post those later if you're really interested.
I agree MrRoboto it could have been much worse...!!

 

[Rottenapplr]

Oh ok. That makes sense. Tire threads make a huge difference in the rain.

 

[MP3Mike]

(I need to look at the drives side again and see). I can post those later if you're really interested.

I am interested in seeing the video from the repeaters.

 

[Broccoli2]

Side repeaters... Boy you can really see the "jolt" when I hit the underpass bump in the road... BTW, When this happened there is a curve to the right in the road.

 

[WilliamG]

Oh ok. That makes sense. Tire threads make a huge difference in the rain.

No kidding. I reckon having AWD would have saved this situation.

 

[Rottenapplr]

Just wondering but how fast were you going?

I usually do grandma speeds in Socal rain. Lol

 

[Broccoli2]

50ish